This article was co-authored by Michele Dolan. Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

There are 6 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

Large, muscular arms make you look strong and fit while giving your body a sculpted appearance. As an added bonus, having bulky arms may be able to help you perform impressive tasks like lifting heavy furniture and pushing stalled cars to safety without breaking a sweat.You can do exercises that target your arm muscles, but it is also important to build strength in your back, chest, and shoulders as well. Read on to learn what exercises and lifestyle habits build arm mass.

Steps

Part 1

Targeting Your Arm Muscles

1

Perform bicep curls. Bicep curls work out the muscles in your upper arm. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms straight. Curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders. Pause briefly and lower them again.

Do two or three sets of 8-12 repetitions.

2

Do triceps dumbbell extensions to bulk up your triceps. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells over your head with your wrists facing inward. Lower the dumbbells behind your head so that your elbows point up in the air, then raise the dumbbells above your head and straighten your elbows again.[1]

Do between 8 and 12 reps, and 3 to 5 sets.

This exercise can also be performed using both hands to lower and extend one dumbbell above the head.

3

Do wrist curls to work out your forearms. It is important that you do not neglect your forearms. Wrist curls can help strengthen your wrists and forearms, which will improve your lifting ability overall. To do wrist curls, sit and grasp a dumbbell in each hand. Rest your arms against your thighs with your wrists hanging off the edge of your knees. Curl your wrists up and back down, keeping your forearms still.[2]

Repeat 8-12 times. Do two or three sets total.

Part 2

Building Arm Mass with Compound Exercises

1

Do bicep curls to shoulder press to build your biceps and shoulders.[3] Your biceps are one of the main muscle groups in your arms, and working out your shoulders will help increase your overall body strength. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the dumbbells at your sides with your arms fully extended and your palms turned inwards, curl the dumbbells to your chest, then press them over your head before reversing the dumbbells to the starting position.

Do between 8 and 12 reps, and 3 to 5 sets. Rest for about 45 seconds between sets.

This exercise may also be performed with a kettle bell or barbells.

2

Do chin-ups to work out your biceps and back. The primary muscles that chin ups engage are in the back, but this exercise also helps strengthen your biceps. Grip a fixed bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and your palms facing you. Use your arms to lift your body, until your chin is higher than the bar then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.[4]

Do between 8 and 12 reps, and 4 to 5 sets.

You can increase the difficulty of this exercise by using a weighted belt.

3

Perform push-ups. Push-ups are a great exercise because they target the chest, back, and ab muscles while also working out the arms.[5] To do a push up, put your hands below your body and slightly outside your shoulders. The rest of your body should extend straight back. Lower yourself by bending your elbows until you are just above the ground. Raise yourself back up until your arms are straight.

Do as many push ups as you can while still maintaining proper form.

Part 3

Lifestyle Changes

1

Don't eat too many calories. You may think that to bulk up your muscles, you should eat more calories than you usually would. Eating more calories doesn't translate into building bigger muscles. Rather, the calories increase body fat, which obscures muscle definition. The key is to eat a diet that enables you to be lean, so your big muscles become more apparent.

Avoid white sugar and flour, fried foods, and other high-calorie foods that may cause you to gain fat.

2

Eat plenty of protein. Protein helps build muscles, so when you're trying to bulk up, it should be a mainstay of your diet. Try to increase your daily intake of protein to help build more muscle.

Choose fish, chicken, lean beef, pork, and other types of meat to supply yourself with protein. Eggs are also a great source of protein.

Beans, nuts, and other vegetables are good vegetarian protein sources.

Dairy, such as milk, cottage cheese, and yogurt, is another great source of protein.

Consider supplementing your diet with protein powder such as whey. Whey is a byproduct of cheese that helps build bigger muscles.

3

Take rest seriously. When it comes to building muscles, resting periods are as important as workout periods. Get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep on the days when you work out, and avoid overdoing it with other activities that require use of your arm muscles.

Part 4

Workout Basics

1

Work out your whole body. It's healthier to strengthen all of your muscles with compound exercises than to focus only on building arm mass. If you want to be able to lift heavy objects and weights, you also need to work on your shoulders, chest, and back. If you don't work out your legs and core, you'll end up with big arms and a lower body that isn't as muscular.[6]

On the days when you aren't training your arms, train other muscle groups in your legs, back and abdomen. This way you'll still be building strength while your arm muscles are recovering.

Do compound exercises that bulk up your arms while also toning other muscles. Chin-ups and push-ups, for example, strengthen your abs at the same time they are strengthening your arms.

2

Train two times per week. Many people think that working out every day builds bigger muscles, but muscle mass is actually built during resting days between workout sessions. Your muscles grow stronger as they recover between lifting sessions, enabling you to gradually lift more and more weight. If you don't give your muscles time to rest, particularly your arm muscles, you risk overtraining them and delaying the results you want to achieve.

3

Train in 30-minute sessions. For the same reason, you should only train one or two times per week and each training session should only last about half an hour. Training for over half an hour per session greatly increases the risk that you will injure your ligaments, joints, and tendons. Short, intense training sessions are your best bet for building arm mass.

4

Train as hard as you can. Choose heavy weights that you are able to pick up, and make your training sessions as high-intensity as possible. Muscle-builders call this "training to failure," because it means lifting weights that are heavy enough to cause you to "fail," or be unable to complete the exercise after five to eight reps. As your arms grow stronger, and you find that the weight you've been lifting is no longer as difficult, add more weight.

If you are new to lifting weights, you may want to work with lower weights first before working your way up to heavier weights. Do not start off with the heaviest weights you can lift. Instead, find a lighter weight that you can do at least 8-12 reps with.

Find your "train to failure" weight by experimenting with different weights until you find one you can lift several times before breaking a sweat and feeling you can't lift it again. If you can complete 10 or 12 reps without sweating or feeling much of a burn, you should be lifting more weight. If you can't complete five or six reps before giving up, decrease the weight.

While extreme discomfort is part of building muscle mass, you shouldn't be lifting so much weight that you feel you're going to be sick or pass out. There's no shame in starting at a lower weight. Start lifting a weight you can handle, and soon you'll build up the strength required to lift heavier weights.

5

Use proper form. Get the maximum benefit from your workouts and avoid injury by using the correct form when you lift weights. In addition, to lifting the appropriate amount of weight for your level of fitness, keep the following tips in mind when you're lifting weights:

Lift with controlled movements, rather than using momentum to move the weights.

Be sure you are able to complete each full exercise for at least 6-8 reps. If you cannot do this many, the weights you are using may be too heavy.

Building muscle requires constantly challenging the muscle with increasing weight. Perform 3-5 sets of 6-10 repetitions twice per week. Use weight that is the heaviest you can lift with good technique. You can expect to see results in 6-8 weeks.

I've been working out for several years, and I haven't really seen any improvements. Why could that be?

Community Answer

When people don't see results, it's often because a) they are just going through the motions when they work out, or b) their diet does not support muscle growth. When you work out, choose challenging exercises, focus on every rep, and keep pushing yourself a little further (more weight, or different movements) as your body adapts. Make sure you eat a healthy diet with plenty of protein to fuel your strength gains, get plenty of sleep at night, and try your best to manage your daily stress levels.

Yes, can by doing body weight workouts. For example, do push ups. wide for back, diamond for triceps, and normal for chest. This variety can help build muscle strength versus mass. It is also important to have a good diet, with rest -- you only get more muscle after a harder workout since your body is repairing the muscles with more protein to build.

Tips

Do the exercising in a room where you can see your reflection. This will help you to see whether you've got the correct form and posture. Take care not to lean or swing your body to help the weights move––watch the line that the dumbbell traces as you move and try to achieve a smooth arc. Also, watch that your stomach is flat, your back is straight and that you're not holding your breath. Proper form is vital; without it, you risk injuring yourself.

Stick to compound exercises as much as possible.

Always stretch before and after a workout. You could injure yourself if you don't. Warming up allows your muscles to fatigue faster.

A smart and near effortless way to work out your arms and build some muscle is by tossing a medicine ball around. By simply juggling your medicine ball with your hands as if you're playing with it, you can exercise for several minutes in a row without tiring yourself, depending on how heavy it is. It's a kind of distraction/exercise you can do at home while watching TV, for example.

Make sure you eat and get enough sleep. Hydration is very important too. There is no minimum amount of water you should drink, but dark urine is an indication you need more. If you're eating right (low sodium, lots of greens), too much water can cause cramping.

You won't break strength records with 4 hours of sleep

Workout with a friend. You might not realize you're working out at all. It will be more fun with friends.

Warnings

Know the difference between "good pain" and "bad pain", if you are finding pain when working hard and are still able to keep lifting even though it hurts, that's a good hurt. If It is painful to the point where you can't do any more reps etc., stop, rest, and come up with what could be the problem, don't push through the bad pain, it could lead to further injury.

To get bigger arms, dedicate half an hour, twice a week, to targeted exercises. Though you may feel tempted to do more, limit yourself to this type of schedule to avoid overuse injuries. For upper arms, work on bicep curls and triceps dumbbell extensions. To work on your forearms, try wrist curls. If you want to do a compound move to strengthen two areas at once, try a bicep curl into a shoulder press. Chin ups will help build bicep and back strength. Additionally, push ups are a full body workout that can strengthen your arms, back, and core. To learn more from our Personal Trainer co-author about how to change your diet to get bigger arms, keep reading the article!

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Article Info

This article was co-authored by Michele Dolan. Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

"The 4 parts, especially the community Q&A, help me a lot. I think Michele Dolan's down-to-earth and realistic answers were good. Everything in this article is explained step-by-step and the tips are practical and helpful."..." more

A

Anonymous

Jun 13, 2018

"I now know that I have to train different muscle groups every day so that other muscles get to rest and recover for proper muscle gain."..." more

JE

Jonathan Eaglin

Sep 27, 2017

"Very educational because I'm over weight and have diabetes, type 2, so this helped me a lot, thanks!"

D

Don

Apr 25, 2018

"Now I know how to do exercise per week and increase my knowledge on how to build biceps muscles!"

RL

Ryan Lombardi

Jul 7, 2016

"It took about a month and a half, and I can already see a huge difference."

NM

Neil Mitchell

Dec 25, 2016

"Explained very, well been trying it for a while now and getting results."